Faith-Based Education

As the Denver Postreported earlier in the month, Peter Groff has moved from Colorado’s State Senate to the Department of Education’s “Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center.”

Wait a minute — we have not only faith-based welfare but faith-based education? Pray tell, what use does the Department of Education have for a faith-based program? The Post quotes a media release about how Groff will “help empower faith-based and community groups, enlisting them in support of the department’s mission to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans.”

And why do we need federal tax dollars to “empower” the educational efforts of religious groups? And where is the Democratic skepticism of mixing church and state?

In a second article, the Post is more specific as to what Groff’s department does: “Under the Bush administration, the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives doled out grants to churches and other faith programs for after-school activities, weekend computer labs and family literacy programs.”

It is immoral, a violation of individual rights and of church-state separation, to force people to finance “churches and other faith programs” against their judgment. It was immoral when Bush did it, and remains immoral as Obama follows in Bush’s footsteps.

One thought on “Faith-Based Education”

Ari, I am a Christian, and I don’t like the mixing of church and state at all either! However, I also don’t like my tax dollars going to anything I disapprove of –like abortion. But truly we can’t pick our government –even is we wish we could and even if we are supposed to be able to. I do believe, though, that Jesus taught separation of church and state, because until HE reigns, no person who comes to power can refrain from getting corrupted and oppressing his fellow man. Jesus said in Matt. 22:21, “Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.” Rachel